It's not that pizza is only a summer staple. But coming off Easter, with warmer and longer days ahead, had me thinking Sunday night of oven-baked pizza and wine. With that in mind, a number of regional wineries were asked Monday what wines of theirs pair well with pizza and whether only red wine is the drink of choice with a pie. The answer, of course, is that the perfect pairings extend beyond a bottle of dry, red wine.

Here are some of the answers. Thanks to the overwhelming response to the question, more will be posted Tuesday.

Yes, pizza wines can be blends. They can also be varietals. It depends on taste buds! (and your pocket book). ACW offers several reds to be enjoyed with pizza, Turning Point a blend of Chambourcin and Cabernet Sauvignon with hints of American oak.

Evening Embers is a medium bodied red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chambourcin with nuances of European oak. There are also the varietals: Pinot Noir made of local grapes from Apple Tree Vineyards; Blaufränkisch or (Lemberger), an estate grown red, and a medium-body fruit-forward Cabernet Sauvignon. Whites can be enjoyed as well -- Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or Viognier.

I actually did a Facebook posting about this same topic in March (madness) when a lot of people eat pizza while watching the games. Here's my take on it. If you are eating a traditional Italian pizza (e.g., tomato sauce, garlic, grated cheese, oregano and mozzarella), you should pick a wine with high acid and low/moderate tannins. I would think of grapes such Zin, Barbera, Shiraz, Sangiovese and Merlot.

Cullari Vineyards has a lot of wines that would pair well with red pizza including, Old Country Red, Simple Red Number 1, KeyONtee, Spectacullari and our Merlot. For white pizza, my recommendation would be a Pinot Grigio, and possibly a dry Riesling (because of its high acid), which pairs well with most types of cheese. Of course, these days a lot of pizza comes with a topping so you may need to match the wine to the topping, but the wines I listed above would probably still work well.

Our favorite wine with a red pizza with lots of stuff on it is our Diego Red, a slightly sweet, soft, full-bodied blend. It is also one our most popular wines; not everyone likes bone dry tannic reds with food. For a white or vegetarian pizza, cold Pinot Gris is good.

Sparkling wine is also good with almost any food, especially pizza. The bubbles help cleanse the pallet between flavorful bites.